Terms of Use

General information about the use of Open Badge Factory service

The CanCred Factory service (later referred to as the Service) is offered by Learning Agents Inc. (later referred to as the Service Provider.)

These Terms of Use apply to the users of the Service (later referred to as User(s)). User refers to four user types: 1) Individuals who interact with the public Service website but are not registered as Users 2) Customer organizations, who establish and maintain environments in the Service, 3) Admin Users of organization environments and 4) User accounts created by the Admin User.

The Service delivered by the Service Provider consists of a cloud based platform to create, issue and manage eCredentials based on the Mozilla Open Badge standard (later referred to as badges.)

The Service is primarily designed for use by education and training organizations, or education and training departments or functions in other organizations. The User may use one of several automated and manual methods available on the Service to issue badges, either directly or via plugins to other systems the User may operate. The User acknowledges that the Service Provider makes no representations or certifications about badges which may be issued from the Service by Customer organizations.

As a brief technical description, when a User issues a badge using the Service, the intended recipient of the badge (later referred to as Earner) receives an email notice, prompting the Earner to direct the badge to the Earners’s account on CanCred Passport [URL], which is a badge storage and display service designed to complement CanCred Factory. If the Earner does not already have an account on CanCred Passport, the Earner will prompted to create a free account. The Earner also has the option to accept the badge by downloading it then uploading it to another badge storage service such as Mozilla Backpack. The Earner also has the option to not accept the badge.

By using the Service the User accepts these Terms of Use.

Access to the Service and restrictions

By creating a User account in the Service, the User assures the Service Provider that he/she is at least 13 years old and if under 18 years, authorized by his/her parents.

Subject to the User’s acceptance of and continuing compliance with these Terms of Use, the Service Provider grants to the User a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service solely for the purpose of creating, issuing and management of issued/received badges. The User agrees not to use the Service for any other purpose. The Service shall not be used in any other manner than via specified interfaces and according to given instructions and these Terms of Use provided by the Service Provider.

Except as specifically allowed in these Terms of Use, the User is not entitled to use, copy, reproduce, republish, store, modify, transfer, display, encode, transmit, distribute, lease, license, sell, rent, lend, convey, upload or otherwise transfer, assign or make publicly available its User account, the Service, a part thereof or the material contained therein in any way. The User is not entitled to adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or attempt to discover the source code, underlying ideas, algorithms, methods, techniques, file formats or programming interfaces of, or create derivative works from the Service or any part thereof, except to the extent permitted under the applicable law. The User is not entitled to remove, modify, hide, obscure, disable or modify any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices, marks, labels or any other branding elements contained on or within the Service, falsify or delete any author attributions, legal notices or other labels of the origin or source of the material, or misrepresent the source of ownership of the Service.

The license of the User terminates immediately if the User attempts to circumvent any technical protection measures used in connection with the Service or if the User otherwise uses the Service in breach of these Terms of Use.

The User promises that the information the User provides or provided in connection with registration to, and use of the Service is true and accurate. The use of the Service requires a username and a personal password or other user identification method approved by the Service Provider (hereinafter referred to as User ID). Unless otherwise agreed, the User ID requires a valid email address of the User for generating the username.

The User must keep the password required for the use of the Service secret and not disclose it to anyone else. Users may not assign or transfer their User IDs to a third party and may not allow a third party use the Service with the User ID. If a third party has obtained User’s password or the User has a reason to believe that a third party has obtained its password, the User must immediately inform the Service Provider. The User is solely responsible for actions taken by using its User account until it has informed the Service Provider of the loss of the password and the Service Provider has had a reasonable time to prevent the use of the Service with the User ID.

The Service Provider reserves the right to terminate User’s access to the Service without prior notice if the User violates these Terms of Use. The Service Provider is entitled to prevent access to the Service if it has reason to believe that the User is engaged in illegal activity or has compromised other Users’ or Service Provider’s data security or privacy or if the Service Provider receives a notice that User’s password has been obtained by a third party.

No devices or connections necessary for the use of the Service are provided subject to these Terms of Use. User is responsible for purchasing, maintaining and updating such devices and connections (including data security) and for any costs related thereto.

Service levels, pricing and terms of payment

Unless otherwise indicated, all prices quoted are payable in Canadian dollars.

The Service offers a tiered system of Service levels starting with a Free level. The prices and capabilities of Service levels in force are specified on the Service website and may change from time to time. The User can purchase paid levels during or after a free trial period, the duration of which is specified on the website. If the subscription and payment are made during the trial period, the remaining days of the trial period will be added to the subscription period purchased by the User. The minimum subscription period for paid levels is one year.

Paid Service levels can be upgraded any time during the subscription period. For example, the User can purchase a one-year subscription for Basic Service level and upgrade the Service level to Premium a few months later if needed. The unused portion of the subscription period at the previous level will be added to the new one-year subscription on a pro-rated value basis to the nearest month, provided it is greater than 30 days.

Downgrading a Service level is only possible after the current subscription period has expired. For example, the User may downgrade his/her subscription from Premium to Basic or Free and from Basic to Free. Issuable badge inventories are not retained through service downgrades. The Admin User must select the badges he/she wishes to preserve and delete the rest of the badges to match the new maximum limit of issuable badges. Badges that have been deleted from the issuable badge inventory will not be restorable even if the User later upgrades his/her Service level.

Payment shall be made at the time of purchase of the Service or when upgrading the Service level using the available payment methods. Accepted payment methods are specified on the Service website. Surcharges may be added by Service Provider for manual methods of payment such as by invoice or purchase requisition.

When the term expires or if the Service is suspended or terminated for whatever reason, the Service Provider is under no obligation to return to the User any payments made before that date.

Prices stated for the Service exclude all applicable taxes and currency exchange settlements, unless stated otherwise. User is solely responsible for paying such taxes or other charges.

CONSENT TO ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

When the User uses the Service or sends email to the Service Provider, the User is communicating with Service Provider electronically. The User consents to receive communications from the Service Provider electronically. The Service Provider will communicate with the User by email or by posting notices on the Service website. The User agrees that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that the Service Provider electronically provides to the User satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing and/or signed.

THIRD PARTY PAYMENT

When the User purchases a Service, the Service Provider may provide the User access to third party payment processors. The Service Provider neither monitors nor has any direct control or input over such processors’ activities. The User acknowledges and agrees that the Service Provider provides access to such third party payment processors “as is” without any warranties, representations or conditions of any kind. The User’s use of third party payment processors is entirely at the User’s own discretion and the User should ensure her or she is familiar with, and approves, the terms on which such services are provided by the relevant third party payment processor.

OWNERSHIP AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The Service Provider either owns the Intellectual Property Rights to the Service or has acquired the necessary rights or licences in the Intellectual Property Rights. Portions of the Intellectual Property Rights may have been licensed to the Service Provider or published on the Service website by third parties.

The Service Provider shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to the Service as well as any material in or provided through the Service, including any copyright, patent, trademark, design right, trade secret and any other intellectual property rights (hereinafter referred to as Intellectual Property Rights). The User shall not receive any ownership rights to the Service by using the Service or for example by downloading material from or submitting material to the Service. Unless expressly authorized by mandatory legislation, the Service may not be copied, reproduced or distributed in any manner or medium, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the Service Provider. All rights not expressly granted to the User herein are reserved by the Service Provider.

The Service Provider strongly encourages Users who notice possible copyright infringements on the Service website to contact the Service Provider at <info@cancred.ca.>

The materials and information and any Intellectual Property Rights related thereto which the User inserts into the Service (User Content) remain the property of the User or, if provided by a third party, remain the property of that third party, unless otherwise assigned.

The User grants the Service Provider a non-exclusive, royalty-free perpetual licence to use the User Content throughout the world, as the Service Provider sees fit in its sole discretion, for the purpose of providing the Service.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SERVICE PROVIDER

The Service Provider is responsible for technical implementation and maintenance of the Service. Scheduled and unscheduled changes and breaks in service may occur. The Service Provider may suspend the Service when necessary for example for installation, amendment or maintenance work or if laws, regulations or authorities so require or if there are other justifiable reasons for suspension. The Service Provider aims to ensure that the suspension is as short as possible. The Service Provider will make an effort to inform Users a reasonable time in advance of substantial changes and breaks in service on the login page of the Service and in the support area of the website.

If the Service is not available for Use for more than two (2) consecutive days, the subscription fee or any part of it shall not be refunded but an equivalent amount of days will be added to the User’s subscription time as compensation. However, the Service Provider reserves the right to perform small updates without advance notice. A back-up of the service content is made once a day. The back-up is made in case the service content needs to be restored due to, for example, a technical problem. However, individual User content is not restored if the User accidentally deletes User content.

The Service Provider permits User content to be stored on the Service website, but is not responsible for any loss of User content.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE USER

It is the responsibility of the User of the Service to make sure that he/she has the right to use the images, content and email addresses that he/she uses in issuing his/her own badges. The User agrees not to use the Service in such a manner or otherwise submit any material that violates any Intellectual Property Rights, privacy, publicity or any other rights of others; or would be illegal or violate the norms of polite behaviour. The Service Provider is not responsible for possible violations of Users.

The User shall use the Service in a manner that does not cause harm to the Service Provider, other Users or third parties. If the Service Provider receives a notice claiming that the User has submitted any offending material, the Service Provider is entitled to remove such material, the User or User organization’s environment or prevent their use without notice.

Any User who is found to have, or is reasonably suspected to have, violated the rules of conduct provided above, may be barred from using the Service, in the Service Provider’s sole discretion, and may be subject to other legal remedies.

USE OF SERVICE AND LINKS

The Service website may include links to other websites, solely as a convenience to Users. The Service Provider does not endorse any such linked sites or the information, material, products or services contained on other linked sites or accessible through other linked sites. Further, the Service Provider makes no express or implied warranties with regard to the information, material, products or services that are contained on or accessible through linked sites.

The User’s access to and use of linked sites, including information, materials, products and services on linked sites or available through linked sites, is solely at the User’s own risk and governed by the terms of service of the linked site. If there is any conflict between these Terms of Service and any of the terms or notices set forth on any other website, then the terms of that other website will control the User’s use of that link. The User should review the terms of use for each link so that he/she understands all of the terms that will apply.

PROVISION OF THE SERVICE

The Service is provided on an “as-is” basis without warranties of any kind. The Service Provider, and its officers, directors, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, representatives, agents, licensors or their respective successors and assigns (collectively, its Others) does not warrant that the Service will function without interruptions or error-free. Service Provider and its Others shall not be liable for the correctness, exhaustiveness or reliability of the information or other material presented on the Service nor for the content or other features of the products or services offered on or conveyed through the Service.

THE SERVICE PROVIDER AND ITS OTHERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED, AND STATUTORY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, SATISFACTORY QUALITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TO THE FULL EXTENT SUCH WARRANTIES MAY BE DISCLAIMED BY LAW. THE SERVICE PROVIDER AND ITS OTHERS DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FOR THE ACTS, OMISSIONS AND CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH OR RELATED TO USER’S USE OF THE SERVICE.

FORCE MAJEURE

The Service Provider will not be liable for failure or delay in performance of its obligations under these Terms of Service due to any cause beyond the Service Provider’s reasonable control, including, but not limited to: (i) acts of God; or (ii) failure or disruptions in third-party-controlled or operated communications facilities; or (iii) worms, viruses and other disabling or disruptive software, communications or files.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

The Service Provider and its Others shall not be liable for direct or indirect damages caused by a possible delay, a change or a loss of a service, product or material transferred through the Service. The Service Provider and its Others are not liable for direct or indirect damages caused by interruptions and disturbances including loss or delay of data or changes in data due to technical defects or maintenance. Further, the Service Provider and its Others disclaim any liability for direct or indirect damages caused to the User by harmful programs (virus, worms etc.) or incorrect content in the Service, the Service provider and its Others bear no liability for damages caused by the User or by a third party.

The Service Provider and its Others are never liable for any indirect or unforeseeable damages caused to the User under any circumstances.

The User shall be liable and agree to indemnify and hold the Service Provider and its Others harmless from and against all damages, costs, expenses and liabilities which are caused by the User or his/her unlawful behavior or infringement of these Terms of Use or his/her violation of any rights of a third party through use of the Service or content related thereto.

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF THE SERVICE PROVIDER AND OTHERS TO USER FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING UNDER OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT EXCEED THE MAXIMUM ANNUAL AMOUNT PAID BY THE USER FOR THE SERVICE.

THE USER AGREES TO RELEASE, REMISE, ACQUIT AND DISCHARGE THE SERVICE PROVIDER AND ITS OTHERS FROM ANY CLAIMS, ACTIONS, DEMANDS, COSTS AND EXPENSES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR TORT, AT LAW OR IN EQUITY, OR BY STATUTE OR OTHERWISE, HOWSOEVER CAUSED, WITH RESPECT TO THE USER’S USE OF, OR THE SERVICE PROVIDER’S OPERATION OF, THE SERVICES AND THE SERVICE WEBSITE, EXCEPT AS MAY BE SET OUT IN THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH.

TERM AND TERMINATION

The term of the Use of the Service is subject to a charge as selected by the User from the available alternatives in connection with the purchase of the Service and acceptance of these Terms of Use. Subscriptions are not renewed automatically. One month before a subscription expires, the Admin User will be informed by email that his/her subscription needs to be renewed. This information is also displayed in the User environment’s dashboard. If the subscription is not renewed before the expiration of the subscription time, the environment will be locked. The User will be able to unlock the environment by purchasing a new subscription or downgrading to Free Service level.

The Service Provider shall have the right to terminate or suspend the Service immediately if the User has failed to make a payment for the successive term or if the User violates these Terms of Use.

The User is entitled to stop using the Service at any time, without informing the Service Provider. If the User fails to renew his/her expired subscription within 90 days of expiry and does not otherwise inform the Service Provider of his/her intent, the Service Provider may terminate the User’s account.

In the event of termination of the User’s account, no refund shall be payable by the Service Provider for any unused portion of the User’s annual subscription. If the User chooses to delete their environment, all User content is permanently deleted. However, if the User does not delete the User environment and does not otherwise instruct the Service Provider, the Service Provider will make reasonable efforts to ensure that badges issued by the User will continue to be hosted for at least two (2) years at no additional cost.

The Service Provider has the right to terminate the Service at its sole discretion. The Service Provider will aim to provide reasonable advance notice of such termination of the Service. No refund will be payable to the User in the event of such termination of the Service.

APPLICABLE LAW AND SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

The Service Provider is physically located within the Province of Manitoba, Canada. These Terms of Service will be governed by the laws of the Province of Manitoba and the laws of Canada applicable therein and shall be treated in all respects as a Manitoba contract, without reference to the principles of conflicts of law. In the event of a dispute, User agrees to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of Manitoba’s courts.

The Service Provider makes no representation that the Service and all materials on the Service website are appropriate or available for use in any particular location. Those who choose to access the Service or the Service website do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.

The Privacy Policy document complements the Terms of Use and is incorporated into these Terms of Use by reference.

CHANGES TO TERMS OF USE

The Service Provider reserves all rights to make changes in the Service’s Terms of Use and features. The most current version of Terms of Use can be viewed by visiting Service website. Substantial changes to the Terms of Use will be announced on the login page of the Service. User’s continued use of the Service after such notice shall be deemed acceptance of any changes.

CONTACT

If you have questions regarding these Terms of Use, please contact the Service Provider at info@cancred.ca